It’s that time again! The Open Group is busily preparing for the Newport Beach Conference, taking place Jan. 28-31, 2013. As you begin packing, charge up your smartphones and bring your digital cameras: We’ll be hosting The Open Group Photo Contest once again! The prize is a free pass to attend any one of the Open Group conferences in 2013!

The contest is open to all Newport Beach Conference attendees. Here are the details for those of you who have yet to participate or need a refresher on our guidelines.

The categories will include:

The Real O.C. Award – any photo taken in or around Newport Beach.

The Newport Beach Conference Award – any photo taken during the conference. This includes photos of keynote speakers, candid photos of Open Group members, group sessions, etc.

Participants can submit photos via Twitter using the hashtag #ogPhoto, or via email to photo@opengroup.org. Please include your full name and the photo’s category upon submission. The submission period will end on Friday, February 8 at 5:00 p.m. PT, with the winner to be announced the following week.

All photos will be uploaded to The Open Group’s Facebook page. Facebook members can vote by “liking” a photo; photos with the most “likes” in each category will win the contest. Photos will be uploaded in real-time, so the sooner you submit a photo, the more time members will have to vote on it.

Below are previous photo contest winners from the Barcelona Conference in 2012:

Modernista Award: For best photo taken in or around Barcelona

Winner: Craig Heath

“Barcelona Sky from the Fundació Joan Miró”

Best of Barcelona Conference Award: For any photo taken during conference activities